JBL and Crown power Brad Paisley's latest tour

For Paisley's "Beat This Summer Tour", which sees the country star playing shows throughout Canada and the US, Sound Image of Escondido, California, is providing Harman's JBL VTX line arrays and Crow I-Tech HD amplifiers.

A total of 44 VTX V25 fullsize line array elements comprise the system on Paisley’s tour, along with 16 VTX S28 subwoofers, all powered by 40 Crown I-Tech 12000 HD amplifiers. “When I first heard the VTX system, I was shockingly impressed. I was amazed by the sound quality when we first fired it up,” according to Greg Hancock, audio crew chief for the tour.

“There were specific sounds that Brad was looking for because he plays in a distinctive style. We were able to accommodate that, because with its high-frequency range, the VTX offers a lot more detail than our previous systems,” added Brendan Hines, who is the tour's FOH systems engineer.

The stage setup including the JBL VTX line arrays

Hines comments that the VTX's S.A.F.E suspension system has also enabled quick setup times on the tour.

“The flexibility and ease with which the VTX is set up benefits us in terms of completing the necessary system configurations to control feedback,” Hines added. “Having that much control over the feedback of those PA’s makes it much easier for tuning.”

Powering the VTX PA are the Crown I-Tech HD amplifiers, which Hine states are "a huge improvement", with phenomenal sound quality and outstanding reliability.